Sunsafe swimwear

ABSTRACT

A woman&#39;s swimsuit that combines the coverage of a rash guard with the functionality of a swimsuit. The top has a shoulder piece extending from the top of the shoulder and down the arm a short distance, a back piece extending from the base of the neck to below the waist, a bust section extending from below the collar bones to below the bust, and a front midriff section extending from below the bust to below the waist. The bottom consists of a skirt which has shorts underneath and has stitching at the side seams to connect the skirt to shorts vertically and inhibits said skirt from floating up when in water.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of my earlier filed provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/289,960 filed on 2009 Dec. 23

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH or DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field

This invention generally relates to women's swimwear, specifically sun protective swimwear, and has two parts, namely a top and a bottom.

2. Prior Art

After my close friend had skin cancer I searched for a swimsuit that would be sun protective and could not find what I was looking for. I found that there are rash guards available for women, which provide adequate coverage of the body to give enhanced sun protection. These rash guards, however, require that a swimsuit be worn under them. The challenge with this option is that swimsuits are generally made aesthetically pleasing by using elements such as gathers and ties, and wearing a rash guard over these elements creates un-natural bumps and bulges that are not aesthetically pleasing. Thus the rash guard provides better coverage than a swimsuit, but offers no support for the chest and requires the wearer to also use a bikini top or other swimsuit top under the rash guard. The swimsuit and bikini tops offer women the chest support, but offer very little sun protection.

As for the swim bottoms, there are many options for women from bikini bottoms to swim skirts. Swim skirts give the best protection from the sun, however, they float up when in the water, and the bikini bottoms which are typically under them offer very little protection.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

My own patent Ser. No. 61/289,960 describes a swimsuit that covers the shoulder chest and back and does not require an additional underneath layer for the support that women need. For the tops, I designed a swimsuit that would combine the coverage and protection of a rash guard with the functionality of a bikini. The result of combining these two common elements in a new way is a woman's swimsuit that covers the shoulders, chest and back and does not require an additional layer underneath. The bottoms consist of a swim skirt with shorts underneath, which are stitched to the skirt at the side seams to keep from floating up, while providing optimal sun protection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is a two piece swimsuit as shown in the enclosed figures and photos. The swimsuit of the invention can be shown in several different embodiments, but each embodiment has certain common features.

The suit includes a bottom unit consisting of two pieces, namely shorts and a skirt and can be seen in the following:

Exhibit A—Shorts: shows the design and construction of the shorts, which consists of two leg sections and a crotch section.

Exhibit B—Skirt: shows the design and construction of the skirt, which surrounds the shorts and has slits at the side seams.

Exhibit C—Shorts with Skirt attached at the top and side seams: shows the points which the shorts and skirt are attached.

The skirt extends at least as far as the bottom of the legs of the shorts unit and preferably approximately an inch beyond the bottom of the legs. The vertical stitch lines that secure the skirt to the shorts at the side seams prevent the bottom of the skirt from floating up when the wearer enters the water. Because of the stitch lines, the skirt always stays down and over the shorts unit of the swimsuit.

The swimsuit also includes a top unit which has sleeves and a bust section which extends from a collar edge or neckline to below the bust area, and below the bust area is an empire waist. Below the empire waist is a midriff section.

Exhibit D—Swim Top, Outside Front View: shows that the bust section includes an inner layer of fabric and an outer layer of fabric, and that the top stitching detail creates a pocket between the two layers which is accessible for insertion of padding through an access opening on the inside of the suit.

Exhibit E—Swim Top, Inside Front View: shows the access point for insertion of padding.

The top includes two shoulder sections which comprise the sleeves. The top also includes a back section which extends from the neck line in back to the bottom edge of the top.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

All embodiments have these features:

Skirts—have shorts under, are stitched at the side seams and attached along the waist band, have slits at the sides.

Tops—cover entire back, have a sleeve, have an empire waist, have a double layer chest section where top stitching creates a left and a right pocket; a high front neckline provides full coverage of chest.

Model Specific

Beth—sleeves that extend to the top of the neckline, extra panel of color along the side seam.

Stacy—drawstrings at the bottom of side seams as well as at the outside edge of the sleeves.

Nickole—cap sleeve without gathers or drawstrings, round neckline.

Annie—gathers along one side, also has a cross-over of fabric that creates the look of a wrap style top.

Specific Panels for Each Model

Beth—top; Left and Right shoulder pieces beginning at the neckline and extending over the shoulder forming cap sleeve;

Left and Right front piece over bust with empire waist;

Left and Right front piece having two layers, forming a pocket over the chest in which padding may be inserted;

Left and Right underarm piece that may create a stripe along the side seam if contrasting colored fabric is used;

Midriff piece in front from empire waist to bottom edge;

Back piece extending from neck to bottom edge.

Beth—bottom; Skirt with shorts under and with top edge above iliac crest of hips;

Legs on shorts extending about 2 inches below crotch;

Skirt attached to shorts at waist and along at least 2 vertical stitch lines at sides;

Skirt extends below bottom edge of shorts;

Side seam piece that may create a stripe along the side seam if contrasting colored fabric is used.

Stacy—top; Left and Right shoulder pieces forming short sleeves with tie strings;

Left and Right front piece over bust'

Left and Right front piece having two layers, forming a pocket over the chest in which padding may be inserted;

Midriff piece in front from empire waist to bottom edge;

Rear piece extending from neck to bottom edge.

Nickole—top; Left and Right shoulder piece forming cap sleeve;

Left and Right front piece having two layers, forming a pocket over the chest in which padding may be inserted;

Midriff piece in front from empire waist to bottom edge;

Rear piece extending from neck to bottom edge.

Annie—top; Left and Right shoulder piece forming cap sleeve;

Left and Right front piece over bust that goes from shoulder to empire waist, forming a wrap top;

Left and Right inside front piece, forming a pocket over the chest in which padding bay be inserted;

Midriff piece in front from empire waist to bottom edge;

Rear piece extending from neck to bottom edge.

Skirt—Skirt with shorts under and with top edge above iliac crest of hips;

Legs on shorts extending about 2 inches below crotch;

Skirt attached to shorts at waist and along at least 2 vertical stitch lines at sides;

Skirt extends below bottom edge of shorts.

Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments.

Thus the scope of the embodiments should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. 

1. A two piece swimsuit, comprising: A suit top unit comprising cap sleeves, a bust section extending from a collar edge to below the bust area to form an empire waist, and a midriff section, with the bust section comprising a left and right bust pocket each with an access opening; a suit bottom unit comprising a skirt with slits at the sides and shorts underneath, said shorts attached to said skirt along the top and at side seams, with the skirt extending below the edge of the shorts.
 2. The two piece swimsuit of claim 1 in which said top unit comprises a wrap top, with a left front piece that extends from the left shoulder to the right side of the empire waist seam, and a right front piece that extends from the right shoulder to the left side of the empire waist seam, with the edges of the two shoulder pieces forming a V-neck.
 3. The two piece swimsuit of claim 1 in which the skirt includes at least one side split.
 4. The two piece swimsuit of claim 1 in which said top unit comprises a neckline formed of a left and right shoulder piece which extends from neckline to cover the shoulder and create the cap sleeve, a left and right front chest piece having two layers to which top stitching creates a pocket in which padding may be inserted, a left and right under arm piece which create a stripe at the side seam, and a back piece which extends from the neck to the bottom edge.
 5. A swim suit construction for enhanced coverage of a swimmer's skin, while allowing freedom of movement and attractive appearance comprising: A suit top unit comprising a cap sleeve, a bust section extending from a collar edge to below the bust area to form an empire waist, with the bust section comprising a left and right bust pocket each with an access opening, and a midriff section, with the top comprising a left and right shoulder piece forming the cap sleeves, a left and right bust piece extending from the neckline to a seam below the bust pieces, forming a pocket over each bust available for placement of bust padding; a left and right underarm piece arranged on the side of the top; and a back piece extending from the neckline to the bottom of the top; a suit bottom unit comprising skirt with a top edge, a bottom hem, slits on at least one side, with shorts which are attached to skirt along the top edge and at side seams, the shorts having a crotch and legs extending below the crotch but not longer than the bottom edge of the skirt, the bottom unit configured to extend from above the hips to the leg bottom edges below the crotch. 